The DJL Tech team have been off wreck diving the Torpedo again with fellow Koh Tao tech divers! Instructor Ed is teaching at DJL Koh Lipe for high season so Matt has written about his experience of the most recent Torpedo expedition.
We have entered a period of the year when Koh Tao becomes a little quieter. This provides a great opportunity for instructors with suitable training who enjoy wreck diving. They get a chance to dust off their twinsets, side mount equipment, and rebreathers and put them to use. And there is no better way to spend your free time than exploring the more exotic wreck diving locations around Koh Tao.
Wreck Diving the Torpedo
The choice of destination for our intrepid technical divers to explore on this trip was the Torpedo wreck. It is one of the closer wrecks to the rocky shores of Koh Tao and the journey usually takes around 2 and a half hours. Bad weather conditions meant the the trip was put back by 1 day. However the morning after conditions were certainly improving and the trip was back on. Ropes off were scheduled for 7.30am from Mae Haad, the main pier on Koh Tao.
Every able bodied person helped to carefully load the mountains of gear onto the Davy Jones Locker boat. With the sweet fair wells of loved ones still ringing in our ears the boat left the sheltering arms of Sairee bay and headed out into the wild untameable jaws of the seas beyond.
Meticulous planning and preparation by the excellent team from around the island helped make for a relaxing journey. Upon reaching the GPS mark Tim took the helm and accurately pinpointed the location of the wreck using the boats sounder . The shot line was sent hurtling into the abyss to sit on the rusting remains of the once proud seafaring cargo vessel.
Our group split up into 3 teams with Tim and Chris entering the water first. Their first job was to tie in and alert the other divers waiting patiently above on the boat that everything was OK. Once tied in the boat could then moor up. Next, team 2 consisting of DJL veteran instructor and all round top bloke Matt with buddies Steve and Max could enter the water and begin their descent. Finally, team 3 would enter the water once team 1 had surfaced.
Exploring the Torpedo
Visibility was excellent on the descent to the wreck, the colour of the water a deep blue. After passing a large school of Bat fish the wrecks’ pointed bow took shape appearing from the waters below. We made our way along the port side of the structure which was awash with soft corals and schools of Trevally hunting. We reached the crumbling structure of the ships bridge which allows for some penetration possibilities through the upper decks. With our scheduled departure time fast approaching we turned back and headed for the shot line. The team ascended up together to complete our decompression obligations.
After a spot of lunch and a debrief of the first dive it was time to gear up again. We then descended back down to complete the second and final dive of the day. This time exploring the bow section and the cargo holds. The holds contain teak logs which were originally mistaken for torpedos, hence the name of the wreck now.
Once everyone was back on the boat safely, it was time to retrieve the shot line and begin our journey back home. Everyone was in high spirits with each of us recalling different parts of the dive. Once again Tim Lawrence of Davy Jones’ Locker Tech had put together a great wreck diving expedition. We’ll be back for more rusty adventures soon.
Matt.